The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns, and FairiesNew York Review Books, 2007 - 95 Seiten Late in the seventeenth century, Robert Kirk, an Episcopalian minister in the Scottish Highlands, set out to collect his parishioners’ many striking stories about elves, fairies, fauns, doppelgangers, wraiths, and other beings of, in Kirk’s words, “a middle nature betwixt man and angel.” For Kirk these stories constituted strong evidence for the reality of a supernatural world, existing parallel to ours, which, he passionately believed demanded exploration as much as the New World across the seas. Kirk defended these views inThe Secret Commonwealth, an essay that was left in manuscript when he died in 1692. It is a rare and fascinating work, an extraordinary amalgam of science, religion, and folklore, suffused with the spirit of active curiosity and bemused wonder that fills Robert Burton’sAnatomy of Melancholyand the works of Sir Thomas Browne.The Secret Commonwealthis not only a remarkable document in the history of ideas but a study of enchantment that enchants in its own right. First published in 1815 by Sir Walter Scott, then re-edited in 1893 by Andrew Lang, with a dedication to Robert Louis Stevenson,The Secret Commonwealthhas long been difficult to obtain—available, if at all, only in scholarly editions. This new edition modernizes the spelling and punctuation of Kirk’s little book and features a wide-ranging and illuminating introduction by the critic and historian Marina Warner, who brings out the originality of Kirk’s contribution and reflects on the ongoing life of fairies in the modern mind. |
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Seite xviii
... , but he orients his material firmly in the present , and does not reject it , either as falsehood or as heresy . Against Lord Tarbat's condemnation of fairy lore , he argues on two principal counts : first , that such xviii INTRODUCTION.
... , but he orients his material firmly in the present , and does not reject it , either as falsehood or as heresy . Against Lord Tarbat's condemnation of fairy lore , he argues on two principal counts : first , that such xviii INTRODUCTION.
Seite xxii
... lore of Gaels , from Ireland and living in Scotland ; and at another a collection of linguistic and cultural rarities as if for a connoisseur's cabinet along the lines of Aubrey's Miscellanies , as mentioned earlier , and Thomas ...
... lore of Gaels , from Ireland and living in Scotland ; and at another a collection of linguistic and cultural rarities as if for a connoisseur's cabinet along the lines of Aubrey's Miscellanies , as mentioned earlier , and Thomas ...
Seite xxxix
... Lore & Psychical Research ( London : David Nutt , 1893 ; scanned at sacred-texts.com , Feb- ruary 2004 , John Bruno Hare , redactor ) , p.vi. 19. See Lang , p.7 : And half I envy him who now , Clothed in her Court's enchanted green , By ...
... Lore & Psychical Research ( London : David Nutt , 1893 ; scanned at sacred-texts.com , Feb- ruary 2004 , John Bruno Hare , redactor ) , p.vi. 19. See Lang , p.7 : And half I envy him who now , Clothed in her Court's enchanted green , By ...
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Aberfoyle aerial Andrew Lang angels apparitions appear Barrie beast believe in fairies betwixt Bible body called Cardano Celtic CESARE PAVESE charm charmer conjecture conveyed creatures cure curious daemons dead defaecat devils doth earth Elisha enchanted essay fairyland Folklore Gaelic GEORGES SIMENON ghost hand hath haunt Highlands hill inhabitants invisible Irish isle J. G. FARRELL J. M. Barrie James Jesus King Kirk's glossary knew L.P. HARTLEY leannain sith legend LEONARDO SCIASCIA living London Lord lore magic MARINA WARNER ment milt minister nature night noctambulos occult ond sight PATRICK LEIGH FERMOR perceived person Peter powers Robert Boyle Robert Kirk Scotland Scots Scottish Scottish-Irish second sight Secret Commonwealth seen seer seventh Sir Norman sluagh souls species spell spirits Stories strange subterranean supernatural Tarbat terrestrial things tion told tradition Twilight uncanny vision W. B. Yeats whereof wights Witchcraft witches words